


One

by Maisie_top_trash



Series: Flower King And His Sunshine Boy [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Autism, Friendship, Non-verbal Autism, Precious, autistic!josh, no real storyline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 17:51:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11628756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maisie_top_trash/pseuds/Maisie_top_trash
Summary: Josh is the yellow-haired humming boy and Tyler is the smiling neighbour across the street who would do anything to make him happy.





	One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I'm not an expert in autism and portrayal may not be accurate, and I apologise if that's the case xx

"Josh," he heard his mom call from the kitchen, but didn't do anything about it. He was too busy sitting on the carpet in his bedroom, the carpet that was thick enough and fluffy enough for his sprawled legs to dent and for his fingers to bury themselves deep and tug and pull the strands. He loved his carpet. It was blue and fluffy and some places had bald spots where his tugging and pulling had gone too far, and that made him sad, but moving to a new spot and starting again made him happy.

When he moved his legs like a snow angel, he left behind a trail of flattened strands that made him giggle, then when he moved them back together they stood up to attention, ready for him to flatten back down again. Hours of fun.

"Come on you, dinner time." Mom appeared at his bedroom door, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. Mom was nice and Mom was kind and Mom was safe, and Josh didn't mind making brief eye contact with her. It was easy with her.

"Joshua," she sang tunefully and he hummed the same tune back to her then giggled. "Caught you! Cheeky so and so, you're listening, aren't you? You listening to Mom then ignoring Mom?" Josh giggled because Mom was right, then his hands threw themselves up in the air before wrapping around his head and hiding his face whilst his legs retracted up against his chest and turned him into a compact little ball boy.

"Dinner's getting cold Josh, come on munchkin, let's go and eat it up and then maybe if you have it all then we can go and play with Tyler?" Mom suggested and he couldn't help but squeak in delight and stomp his feet happily, excited and ecstatic to hear his best friend's name. The prospect of seeing him, let alone playing with him, invigorated him with so much energy that he thought he was going to explode, and quickly jumped to his feet then up and down a few times whilst flapping his hands.

Mom watched and smiled, then when he calmed down she extended her hand towards him and he took it then let her lead the way out of his bedroom and across the hall then down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Dinner was two plain waffles and 3 plain sausages. Dinner was always two plain waffles and 3 plain sausages. He always had it on his green plastic plate and he always had it on the left stool at the island, and he always had it before his family ate their meal. He used to try and eat at the same time and at the same table as them, but eventually they got sick of his screaming and crying when all the movements and colours and smells and tastes and sounds overwhelmed him. So now he ate earlier, and now he was happier, and now he could finish his meal almost every day.

"Do you want a drink?" Mom asked and Josh nodded whilst tugging his left ear and bouncing his knees on the footrest of the high stool. "Water? Or red squash? Water? Water, okay." She understood his whines and pulled his Tom and Jerry cup out of the cupboard and started filling it with water whilst Josh poked his finger in one of the waffle's square holes and started moving it round and round his plate, grinning as the sausages rolled.

"Hey Mom, hey Josh," Ashley greeted them as she walked into the house after a day of school then softball practice.  
"Hi sweetie," Mom replied and Josh considered waving but once his hand left his earlobe it quickly latched onto the pink hood of the hoodie he was wearing, and he tugged the fabric round to his face so he could start gnawing on the thicker part where the string was threaded.

Josh used to go to school when he was little, a kindergartener, but the teachers were too strict and the kids were too loud and the environment was too much, so Mom and Dad took him out of public school and sent him to a private specialist school. There was better, there was more playing, but once they wanted him to start working he started having more and more meltdowns. Eventually Mom and Dad took him out of the private specialist school and homeschooled him instead, and now he spent every single day with Mom and it was the best.

"Joshie?" Ashley snapped him out of his daydream and he jumped, then giggled when he saw that the waffle had stayed on his finger. He shook it off before using both hands to pull his hood back into his mouth, then looked over at Ashley's forearm, not wanting to look her in the eye. "Josh look what I saved for you on the way home from sch-"  
"Ash not whilst he's having dinner," Mom said but it was too late as she had already passed across the empty Milky Way wrapper. He let out a high pitch screech and bounced up and down on his seat whilst snatching it and ruffling it under the light so that the silver inside sparkled and flashed like magic. He squeaked again then hugged the wrapper tight, delighted to have another one to add to his collection.

"Josh," Mom said, and he looked up at her. "Can I have it please?" She asked and he immediately shook his head no ferociously, shying his body away and sheltering the wrapper protectively. It was his, she couldn't steal it.  
"I'm sorry Josh, I should have waited till you finished dinner, should I take it and give it back to you later? That way it's like you got the present twice!"  
"Josh, can Mom have it? I'll look after it for you." Mom tried again and Josh felt attacked and surrounded from every angle, backed into a metaphorical corner, threatened, panicked. A whimper escaped his lip and both his arms raised up and covered his face as more and more wails slipped out.

"Angel, calm down, deep breaths," Mom hummed soothingly, "Ashley's gone, it's just Mom and Josh, you don't need to be scared," she whispered but Josh still hid his face and shook. "Mom just wants to make sure you eat your dinner, can you do that and play with the wrapper at the same?" She carried on talking and he carried on hiding. "Josh, do you remember what we said would happen if you ate your dinner? Who are we going to go and play with?"

That caught his attention and he suddenly scrambled to jump off the chair, grabbing his mom's hand and tugging her in the direction he wanted to go. Thankfully she let him show her what he wanted, and they stopped at the window in the front room and Josh pointed out the house across the street excitedly whilst his spare fingers and hand drummed against his leg.  
"Yeah that's right Josh, Tyler's house." She nodded and he squealed at his name. "But if you want to play with him then you have to eat your dinner."

Josh made protesting sulks, desperate to go there now. However as soon as he started kicking off even slightly, his mom gave him a look that reminded him that meltdowns never made her change her mind. It took him a moment to think of another way to get what he wanted, and he remember that his mom always praised him when he used sign language. He raised his fist with his thumb in between his first and second finger to sign the first letter of his name and waited for his reward.

"T, well done clever clogs, T for Tyler, and we can go and play with him." She said and he grinned. "But first you need to eat your waffles and your sausages."

 

 

 

"Mrs Dun just called and said Josh is ready to hangout, they're coming over now, okay?"  
"Okay, thanks Mom," Tyler said and she left his bedroom just as quickly as she entered. He rolled off his unmade messy bed and strolled straight over to his chest of drawers, peeling off his plain black top and replacing it with a turquoise and purple Mickey Mouse shirt that he knew Josh would prefer. He quickly checked his hair in the mirror, yawned, then walked over to his window and saw his best friend holding his mom's hand as they crossed the road together.

Tyler had moved with his family to Columbus 2 years ago after a childhood of mixed emotions over in California. The change had been monumental but Tyler was in need of something drastic to spice his life up, so was honestly excited for the move. Only a day after moving in, his mother had sent him on a compulsory trip to introduce himself to all their new neighbours, including the one directly opposite them.

Josh's mom, Laura, had opened the door and invited him in for a drink. She'd barely filled the kettle and he'd barely sat down where instructed before a boy entered the room too, flapping his hands by his side and staring at the floor. Tyler had attempted to introduce himself but was ignored, and once Laura settled the boy in a different room she rejoined him and explained that he was her eldest son, Josh, who had non-verbal autism. That day was the start of a very complicated and long journey to ultimately become his best friend.

Tyler was slightly embarrassed to admit that before Josh he had never met anyone with autism, at least that he was aware of, and it meant that he spent a lot of time on YouTube and Google trying to research the condition. Ultimately what he had learned was that each case was unique and he just had to dive into the unknown, and it was the best decision he had ever made.

Some people - his father mostly - commented how much he had done for Josh, learning sign language, improving his patience beyond belief, he'd got rid of his dog because her bark was too loud, dealing with the comments people at school would make about their friendship, developing a whole new kind of communication for when Josh didn't want to sign, which was most of the time, plus giving up his time on almost a nightly basis all for a guy who had never once said thank you. However Tyler didn't see it like that because Tyler knew that no matter how much effort he put into the bond, Josh had to put in three times as much. Everything was harder for him, everything was a challenge, especially forming relationships, and Tyler always felt so honoured and privileged that the boy across the street had decided he was worth it.

He heard the front door open downstairs and the general murmurings of the two moms talking and then the distinctive shrieks of his excited best friend. Not bothering to take his phone with him, Tyler practically sprinted out of his room and down the stairs, meeting them at the door.

"Hi," he greeted them and saw a toothy grin appear on Josh's face before it was hidden by his excited arms wrapping around his face.  
"Hey Ty. Josh, Mom's going back home now and you can play with Tyler, then when you're tired Tyler can bring you back to our house, okay?" She said and Josh just started bouncing his leg. "No later than 8.30 tonight, we've got communication therapy first thing in the morning,"  
"Okay, thank you Mrs Dun," Tyler smiled and so did she.  
"Have fun boys, bye Josh,"  
"Bye," he waved on Josh's behalf then closed the door.

"Josh, do you want something to eat or drink?" Mom offered but he ran off without registering the question and headed towards the living room, Tyler following slightly behind. "His cup's in the dishwasher if he decides he does want a drink."  
"Alright thanks Mom,"  
"Enjoy," she said and he smiled then jogged to catch up with his wandering friend.

Josh had somehow already found his way into the DVD cabinet and was clawing at the case for Les Mis.  
"Do you wanna watch this?" Tyler laughed doubtfully, sitting on the floor next to him and smiling when he giggled and tilted his head to the side then shook no. He managed to open the plastic box and pulled the disc out, then flipped it over and looked at himself in the colourful reflection and giggled again. It made Tyler happy to see him so happy.

"Here, Josh, look at this." He attracted his attention after getting a disc from another case and balancing it on his little finger then spinning it once he was watching. Josh dropped Les Mis and clapped his hands excitedly and let out a small screech of joy then grabbed his cheeks and hummed delighted.

"Do you wanna try for yourself?" Tyler offered and Josh didn't nod but instead thrusted his fist towards him. "Point your finger up, nice and straight, yeh like that." He said then threaded the hole and span it. It only made half a rotation before Josh reached his hands up to his face like he always did when he was overwhelmed with pure excitement, forgetting that the disc was on his finger. It fell to the ground beside Les Mis and Tyler picked both of them up and held them to his own eyes like goggles and once Josh noticed he burst into a fit of giggles. His ever-moving fingers crawled up his bright pink hoodie and found the hood, which he quickly pulled into his mouth and started chewing it.

Tyler put the discs down and immediately Josh shuffled even closer to him and reached out, stroking both of Tyler's cheeks with the fingertips on both of his hands. The way he touched him was soft and gentle and Tyler let him continue to explore and move across the bridge of his nose then up to his eyebrows before finally forcing him to close his eyes by brushing his lids closed.

"Please don't push Josh," Tyler had to say when Josh started applying pressure to his eyes whilst not letting him pull back. Instantly Josh retracted and he was able to see again, and saw the boy hugging his hands protectively, looking both guilty and hurt.

"Hey hey it's okay, you can keep touching, it's okay," he reassured him softly, and cautiously Josh reached his hands out again. Tyler carefully guided them back to his face and thankfully Josh relaxed again and hummed happily whilst roaming across Tyler's lips and nostrils.

Tyler wasn't exactly sure why Josh liked to stroke his face, in fact he could never be sure why Josh did anything that he did, but he supposed it was something soothing for him. There were certain things that Tyler was fairly sure he knew what they meant, for example he always hid his face when he was excited and he always hummed when he was calm and he always flapped his hands when he was anxious and worked up. It might not be a language widely understood, but it was a language nonetheless. A language he was determined to master.

"You okay?" Tyler asked when he finished, and Josh weaved his head side to side like a cobra before chewing his hood again and nodding slightly. He made sucking sounds as he dampened the bright pink fabric, then clapped his hands perpendicularly together twice. Tyler smiled but Josh frowned, then did it again. "Oh, you're signing? School, right? School was really good today thanks, today's a Thursday so they had chicken curry in the canteen, my favourite, and I didn't do my math homework but Mr Carr forgot to ask for it so I guess I'm in luck! How was homeschool?" Tyler asked and Josh held eye contact for a second, a skill that had taken the pair months to perfect, then he threw his head back and briefly looked at the ceiling then back at him, mimicking a yawn.

"Boring?" Tyler presumed and Josh nodded. "And how about now? Are you bored now?" He asked and Josh replied by laying down on the carpet and grabbing the strings from his hood and crossing them then pulling them over his face in an X shape. He blew a raspberry which vibrated against the cord and made a sound that seemed to make him happy.

"Alright come on mister, let's do something, do you wanna go out back and see the flowers?" He suggested and Josh practically leapt to his feet, tugging Tyler up by the crook of his elbow. Tyler smiled then found Josh's hand and held it tight, grinning when he felt Josh squeeze back. The autistic boy didn't show conventional affection but occasionally there were crossovers between Tyler's way of showing love and Josh's way of showing love, and every single time it made his heart swell.

"Mom, Josh and I are going out in the garden," he told her as they walked through the kitchen to get to the back door, still holding hands.  
"Okay darling, oh, I left my trowel and secateurs out by the tomatoes, keep him away from them, make sure he stays safe,"  
"Don't worry, you're okay, aren't you Josh?" Tyler reassured her and he continued to hum and twist on one foot, not paying attention, clearly preoccupied thinking about flowers. "We're gonna go up to the flower bed at the top anyway,"  
"Alright guys, have fun,"  
"We will, thanks." He called back as he unlocked the door with his spare hand then stepped down onto the patio and made sure Josh got down okay too, then closed it behind them.

Selling their home in California and seeing how much more land they could buy in Ohio using the same budget had blown Tyler's mind. They'd gone from a tiny square of decking with a few plant pots to a massive lawn lined with plants and trees that exceeded his wildest dreams.

It was Josh who started swinging their hands as they began the long walk along the patio and then the grass, and each swing went higher and higher until eventually it earned a giggle from him. Tyler was without a doubt that hearing his best friend giggle like that was his favourite sound in the world. And one of his favourite sights was the way Josh's feet danced as he skipped over the tiny daisies growing on the unmowed lawn and landed on the long blades of grass instead. 

"Which ones do you like the most?" Tyler asked when they got to the end of the lawn where most of the flowers were, and Josh pulled him over towards a bed of purple petaled plants which Tyler couldn't even fake knowing the name of. The pair knelt down next to them and let go of each other's hand so that Josh could reach out and start stroking the flowers softly and delicately.

"I like this tune," he said as Josh hummed random unorganised notes in a patternless sequence. And it was true, he did like the tune. Occasionally he would remember the noises that Josh made and then, with his permission, would try to replicate them later on his piano and even used them in songs from time to time. However he couldn't attempt to remember these sounds because suddenly they stopped, and Tyler looked up and saw that Josh had a bee buzzing around his face and terrified hands cupping his ears.

Tyler knew not to make a sound, Josh was already overwhelmed, he simply told himself to be calm and stepped in between the whimpering boy and the bee, and carefully but assertively swatted it away. Once he was sure it had flown off and wasn't going to seek revenge, he turned to face Josh and then placed his hands on top of the cold hands that already covered his ears. Although the addition would only slightly increase the amount of audio stimuli blocked out, more importantly it was a symbol of support and understanding and patience. He wasn't going to rush Josh, he wasn't going to force him to react the way that he would, he was simply going to sit and wait and hold his ears until he felt ready to cope with the noisy world once again.

It took a long while, there was no denying that, but Tyler would have waited forever if that was how long it took. After maybe 5 or 6 minutes, he felt Josh's hands try to move and so he let go and enabled him to do the same. Although he had the urge to spill out a stream of reassuring and comforting words, he had to bite his tongue and give Josh time to acclimatise to the noises of day to day life which were seemingly subtle but actually incredibly loud to someone as sensitive as him. Finally Josh seemed to relax a little, and Tyler was confident that they were out of the woods and a meltdown was no longer on the cards.

"The bee's gone now." Tyler clarified in case Josh hadn't seen or hadn't registered him shooing it away. "But you don't need to be scared of bees, okay? They won't hurt you if you don't bother them, they're just hear to get a sweet drink from the flowers, that's all. They're not something to be afraid of as long as you're gentle with them."

Josh continued to think about what he had said whilst going back to sucking on his hood, then suddenly reached over to Tyler and jabbed his finger into his arm. It was powerful and admittedly hurt a little, but Tyler knew that Josh wasn't doing it on purpose, he was just trying to get his concerns across.

"Sting? You're worried about the sting?" He asked and Josh nodded. "Josh, do you know what happens to a bee if they sting someone?" Tyler asked and this time he shook his head. "The bee dies. Mr Bee doesn't want to die, Mr Bee just wants a drink to make honey with, so he's only going to sting someone if he feels really really threatened. As long as you don't threaten or scare a bee, it won't hurt you."

"You know Josh, Mr Bee probably just thought you looked like a really pretty flower." Tyler said a moment letter and Josh's lips curled upwards slightly as he gnawed on the fabric. "What with your bright yellow hair looking like the middle of a flower and your bright pink hoodie looking like petals, Mr Bee probably thought to himself that you're the biggest and bestest flower in all the land."

As Josh thought about the idea, Tyler could see the joy spreading first across his face and then through his whole body. The tense and tight body position he had been holding since the bee had first overwhelmed him suddenly dissolved and he looked much more at ease, then started shuffling closer to Tyler and stroking his face again like a blind man trying to build a picture.

"So," Tyler began, and Josh's wandering fingers rushed to Tyler's lips which made his words slightly muffled but also made Josh giggle, so he didn't mind. "If you're a fwower, wha am I?"

Josh stopped to think about the question, taking his hands off Tyler's face and instead planting them in the grass and pulling on the blades whilst contemplating his answer. Eventually he grabbed Tyler's shirt to get his attention, which he always had, then excitedly and proudly pointed up to the sun in the blue sky.

"The sunshine? What about it? Too bright today?" Tyler guessed but Josh shook his head, put his hood back in his mouth again then bounced as he pointed at the sun then at Tyler. "Ohh? I'm the sunshine?" He smiled, honoured. Josh nodded as he pushed his pink right sleeve up to his mid-forearm, then pointed at Tyler, pressed his hand to his own chest, then pointed to the sun. It wasn't exactly standard sign language but Tyler understood what he was saying and blushed.

"I'm your sunshine."

**Author's Note:**

> One shot, but do people want a series of autism oneshots?


End file.
